Columbia Metropolitan Airport Receives National Diversity Award
April 25, 2015
CAYCE, SC – Columbia Metropolitan Airport is the 2015 Small Hub Airport recipient of the Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA) Inclusion Champion Award.
The ACI-NA Inclusion Champion Awards offer a unique opportunity for the airport industry to recognize the successful, innovative and sustainable practices of a Large, Medium and Small airport and an associate that demonstrates commitment to diversity in airport business contracting, workforce inclusion and management development in the airport industry.
Columbia Metropolitan Airport was recognized for its efforts to re-focus its diversity initiatives and the development of an engagement cycle to help put Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBE) on equal footing with larger, prime companies. Since the initiative launched in 2010, CAE has increased small, minority and women owned business participation from nine percent to over 30 percent, with two major prime contracts being awarded to disadvantaged businesses.
In addition, the airport’s commitment to workforce diversity has resulted in an increase in both minority and female personnel. The number of women and minorities on the airport’s executive staff has increased by more than 50 percent, as has the number of minority and female representation in managerial positions.
Airports across the nation compete for the ACI-NA Inclusion Champion Award and ACI-NA President and CEO Kevin M. Burke notes that the airports to receive the award set a standard to be followed when proving their dedication to creating growth and competitiveness in diversity in the airport industry.
“North American airports and our associate members are dedicated to celebrating diversity and promoting inclusion,” says Burke. “The recipients of our Inclusion Champions Awards have truly demonstrated their commitment to advancing business and workplace diversity.”
Other 2015 recipients are: Raleigh-Durham Airport Authority as the Medium Hub Inclusion Champion winner, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport as the Large Hub Inclusion Champion and Hudson Group as the Associate Inclusion Champion.
ACI-NA President and CEO, Kevin Burke (l) Columbia Metropolitan Airport Director, Dan Mann (r)
About Columbia Metropolitan Airport
Columbia Metropolitan Airport (CAE) is the premier air travel provider for South Carolina’s Midlands region. The airport offers nearly 30 daily non-stop flights to 10 destinations nationwide. CAE is a self-sufficient entity and does not receive any state or local tax dollars. Visit our website at www.columbiaairport.com or on Facebook at Facebook.com/flycae.
About ACI-NA
Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA) represents local, regional, and state governing bodies that own and operate commercial airports in the United States and Canada. ACI-NA member airports enplane more than 95 percent of the domestic and virtually all the international airline passenger and cargo traffic in North America. Approximately 380 aviation-related businesses are also members of ACI-NA, providing goods and services to airports. Collectively, U.S. airports employ more than 1.2 million people and account for $1.1 trillion in economic activity—or seven percent of the total U.S. workforce and eight percent of GDP. Canadian airports support 405,000 jobs and contribute C$35 billion to Canada’s GDP.
